The first thing I thought when I saw this film was "wow--what a great print"--and it's true, the DVD of this film is amazingly well-preserved and the tinting really worked well (it's unusual to see amber tinting but it worked with the desert scenes). The only negative about the DVD is that it has no extras--none at all.
The film begins with a woman and her children stuck in the desert. One has already died and she and the young girl are next. However, another wagon arrives soon after and the girl, Barbara, is saved--but it's too late for the mother.
Years pass and Barbara is now a pretty young lady. She is loved by Gary Cooper and you'd naturally assume they were intended for each other. A bit later in the film, Ronald Colman comes to this desert town to help build a canal to the Colorado River. He, too, is smitten with Barbara. But before he can marry her, a series of events (naturally) occur to make her hate Colman--even though he really is a good guy and she's misunderstood him. Late in the film, Colman proves himself to be some guy by saving Cooper's life, bringing the payroll to town just before the fickle townspeople burn the place down(?) AND he tries with all his strength to keep the valley from flooding when the river crests. This leads to one of the more amazing scenes in silent history--the flooding of the town. When all is said and done, however, Barbara and Colman are together and everyone lives happily ever after.
While the plot is every bit formulaic (with the necessary mistaken impression that jeopardizes their love AND the way he saves the day and her heart), the film itself is so impressive technically that you gotta like it and respect all the work that went to make this incredible film. So, for the plot, I'd give it a 5 and the special effects a 10--leaving a score of 7.5 overall. But, since 7.5 isn't allowed, I'll round it up to 8.
By the way, I have heard or read many people say that either WINGS or IT (both Clara Bow starring films) were the "big breakthrough" films for Gary Cooper, but this is NOT true. First, his roles in both were tiny (particularly in IT but both parts lasted only a couple minutes). Secondly, his role in THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH was made a year earlier and was a much, much more substantial part.
Also, I'd like to add one more comment in case there is any misunderstanding. In a brief scene near the end, there is a throw pillow on the couch with a giant swastika on it. This was NOT a Nazi reference, as the symbol is at least a couple thousand years old (originating in Asia) and the American-Indians often used it--as did many cultures.
The film begins with a woman and her children stuck in the desert. One has already died and she and the young girl are next. However, another wagon arrives soon after and the girl, Barbara, is saved--but it's too late for the mother.
Years pass and Barbara is now a pretty young lady. She is loved by Gary Cooper and you'd naturally assume they were intended for each other. A bit later in the film, Ronald Colman comes to this desert town to help build a canal to the Colorado River. He, too, is smitten with Barbara. But before he can marry her, a series of events (naturally) occur to make her hate Colman--even though he really is a good guy and she's misunderstood him. Late in the film, Colman proves himself to be some guy by saving Cooper's life, bringing the payroll to town just before the fickle townspeople burn the place down(?) AND he tries with all his strength to keep the valley from flooding when the river crests. This leads to one of the more amazing scenes in silent history--the flooding of the town. When all is said and done, however, Barbara and Colman are together and everyone lives happily ever after.
While the plot is every bit formulaic (with the necessary mistaken impression that jeopardizes their love AND the way he saves the day and her heart), the film itself is so impressive technically that you gotta like it and respect all the work that went to make this incredible film. So, for the plot, I'd give it a 5 and the special effects a 10--leaving a score of 7.5 overall. But, since 7.5 isn't allowed, I'll round it up to 8.
By the way, I have heard or read many people say that either WINGS or IT (both Clara Bow starring films) were the "big breakthrough" films for Gary Cooper, but this is NOT true. First, his roles in both were tiny (particularly in IT but both parts lasted only a couple minutes). Secondly, his role in THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH was made a year earlier and was a much, much more substantial part.
Also, I'd like to add one more comment in case there is any misunderstanding. In a brief scene near the end, there is a throw pillow on the couch with a giant swastika on it. This was NOT a Nazi reference, as the symbol is at least a couple thousand years old (originating in Asia) and the American-Indians often used it--as did many cultures.